Greg Murphy's first race for Tasman Motorsport has yielded a top 10
finish, with the four-time Bathurst champion claiming seventh in today's
first 250km leg of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide in his #51 GMC/Tasman
Motorsport Holden VE Commodore.

Murphy started the race in 11th and battled a problematic gearbox
throughout the race, the effort required to shift gears injuring his
shoulder.

"With these cars being so new, we're still sorting through different
issues and the gearbox was a bit of a problem today," Murphy said.

"Changing gears required a huge effort and it's hurt my shoulder, but
I'll get some treatment for it and I'll be fine for tomorrow.

"You'd always like to finish higher, but seventh is a solid result and
almost equals my best result of last year. Considering how new the car is
and the gearbox issue, I think we can be pleased with the result - the
Tasman Motorsport team has done a tremendous job."

Murphy said aside from his shoulder problem, which was receiving
treatment, he felt few ill-effects from the usually hard race.

"Thanks to the cooler temperature, today's race wasn't that bad. I can't
believe how much better I feel over past years. It's a bit of a relief
going into tomorrow."

Murphy's team-mate, Jason Richards will start tomorrow's second leg from
20th position after Richards' race was hampered by a steering issue in
the #3 GMC/Tasman Motorsport VE Commodore - the problem causing
particular problem in the slow corners.

"After such a good day yesterday, today was a battle which was a little
disappointing," Richards said.

"In slow corners, mainly the right-handers, the car didn't want to turn
and it really required a big effort. We'll look at the car tonight and
try find a remedy for tomorrow's race."

Holden's new generation VE Commodore had the perfect start to its race
track career with the Holden Racing Team's Todd Kelly winning today's
78-lap contest, leading home the Falcon s of James Courtney and Jamie
Whincup, reigning V8 Supercar Champion Rick Kelly finishing fourth.

The season-opening Clipsal 500 will conclude with tomorrow's second 250km
leg, beginning at 2.30pm Adelaide time.